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Styling with shabby chic furniture is an opportunity to create fashionable, economical decor. Apartment Therapy notes how shabby chic decor utilizes many components, from new to vintage finds, making it a decorating style that can fit into any size budget. New wood furniture that is sleek, shiny and contemporary can easily be turned into the worn, shabby chic-style decor by distressing or adding a decorative touch with paint or other techniques.

Distress

Shabby chic furniture often has the look of paint weathered away with age, and nicks and dings that naturally happen with daily use. With sandpaper, a hammer, screwdrivers and paint remover, you can distress your brand-new wood furniture to look old. Sand the edges and corners of the new furniture to look worn. If the new furniture is painted, distress it with paint remover by just removing the paint slightly from the edges and then sanding to blend and create a weathered appearance. Hit the wood with a hammer and dig a little with the edge of a screwdriver to create an aged and lived-in shabby chic finish.

Paint

Brand new wood furniture can be transformed into the shabby chic style easily with paint. Remove any hardware or cushions and prepare the wood surfaces by sanding and priming first. Paint in layers: Apply first one color, and then paint over that with a second color. After drying, sand the edges and the centers of surface tops and backs of chairs slightly to give the furniture the worn appearance of age and to reveal a bit of the bottom color and even the wood underneath. Use a crackle paint kit to create the aged look of crackled paint peeling off. Top off with a clear coat of polyurethane to ensure that your piece of furniture will have a long life. Put the hardware back on and fasten the seat cushions to complete your new shabby chic furniture.

Decoupage

Using wallpaper, fabric or even pages from books, newspapers and maps, you can glue on finishes to turn a sleek piece of new wood furniture into the comfortable look of shabby chic. Take off any hardware and cushions from surfaces to be covered. Be creative, applying paper only to drawer fronts and tops, and then paint the edges to frame the decoupage. Cover the entire furniture piece with decorative wallpaper, or add interest by layering with cutouts from old newspapers. A clear coat of polyurethane on top will leave a durable and lasting surface.

Accessories

Merge your new wood furniture find into shabby chic decor easily by adding and changing accessories. Add traditional pulls or knobs to plain drawer and door fronts or replace existing contemporary hardware with rustic-designed items. Transform a new wood-framed chair that you've painted or distressed by replacing the seat cushion with a shabby chic-style floral or toile pattern in a cotton or linen fabric. The same fabric can also be used to craft a slipcover to completely cover a new chair.

About the Author

Carol Ruth Weber honed her skills as an interior and life designer after segueing from the world of theater design, with a stop as an auto body repair shop owner. With extensive experience, Weber has given her knowledge to the world through her writing, specializing in interior design and decorating, fashion trends, and pets and lifestyle for CBS, Care.com and various websites.